Come Home
by EternalRandomChick
Summary: Two-shot! At the end of her life, Jack sees how he chained Rose to life with the promise, and finally, she comes home.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay I've been thinking about this for a few days now, and I decided finally that I had to put it down and publish it here. I think that Rose felt trapped by her life after the sinking, so that's why I portray her in the way I do here. This is just going to be a two-shot, and the second part is written. First part is from Jack's point of view, and then the second part is from Rose's point of view. By the way, both of the parts will begin with a quote from the movie, which will be in italics, unless a word must have emphasis, in which case, it will not be in italics. **

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**_Jack_**

"_You have a gift, Jack. You do. You _see_ people." "I see you."_

I've always been able to see her soul, even when I was alive. But for those three days that we spent together, I was only able to see the fire that I knew my Rose possessed in her soul. Now, I was able to look past her physical body and actually _see_ her soul. Her soul had remained seventeen, never aging along with her body. But the pain of watching her physical body wither was nothing compared to the agony of seeing the anguish in her soul. Her fiery red hair had dulled to where it represented a barely glowing ember, her porcelain, seventeen-year-old face was constantly streaked with tears, and, worst of all, chains bound her wrists and ankles. It was torture to know that neither her society nor her mother had forged those chains. No. _I _was the one who had made those shackles that now kept her trapped on earth, and _I_ had forcibly put them on her on the night of April 14, 1912, when I made her promise me that she would survive the sinking of the _Titanic_, go on, and finally die a natural death. And ever since I began watching over her, I was constantly reminded of what I did to her. I tried to shake the thoughts from my mind, reminding myself that, soon, I would never see her face streaked with tears of anguish ever again, and no longer would the chains mar her beauty. Both of us might weep, but it would be with joy, and not sadness. We would never again weep from sadness.

I blinked, allowing my vision of her pained soul to be obscured by her physical body. She still looked beautiful, even at one hundred years of age, almost one hundred and one years. Time had attempted to ravage her, but failed. I guessed that it was because her soul was locked in age as a seventeen-year-old.

Currently, Rose was in a recovery submarine, telling the crew our story. I knew that she had taken my name; I had been there with her when she did. Even so, tears of love and affection still sprung to my eyes when she reached that part of her tale.

"We never found anything on Jack," one of the men, Lewis, said. "We never found anything at all." Of course there wouldn't be any records of my life. No one back then cared anything about a street urchin like me.

"No, there wouldn't be, would there?" Rose asked. I could see tears in her own eyes, and I wanted to cry aloud. Why was it that every time I saw her, she was always crying? "And I've never spoken of him until now." Rose continued. "Not to anyone. Not even your grandfather. A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets." She looked at her granddaughter, Lizzie. The girl was also crying, and I almost wanted to comfort her as much as I wanted to comfort my Rose. "But now you know that there was a man named Jack Dawson." Rose concluded. "And that he saved me in every way that a person can be saved. I don't even have a picture of him. He exists now only in my memory." I knew that I had survived in her heart; that was how I was able to watch over her.

The submarine returned to the surface and was taken back onto the recovery ship. I followed Rose that night as she went to the stern of the ship. When she began to climb over the railing, I was reminded of the very day we met, when she had tried to kill herself by leaping off of the _Titanic_. But when she opened her hand and released the Heart of the Ocean into the water, I managed a small smile.

I barely noticed when she had gone back to her room. Quickly, I turned and followed her. I knew that I had limited time here before I had to return to the afterlife on the _Titanic_, and I had to release her from her promise.

She was sleeping peacefully when I came in, at least, her physical body was. As usual, her soul wept constantly, and the chains were pitch black against the white sheets and her pale skin. She was the very picture of sadness.

I could feel myself being pulled away. I leaned in and whispered, "You've kept your promise. Come home, Rose." Just before the usual whiteness that pulled me back to the _Titanic_ surrounded me, I saw the manacles that were locked around her wrists begin to burst and I smiled. Soon, I would see her again.

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**A/N: As usual, please read and review! It helps me gain confidence!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So this is part two of Come Home and the last part. I've thought of Rose as being trapped by her promise, and so that's why I say that she's chained.**

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_Rose_

"_I figure life's a gift... you learn... to make each day count."_

That was what Jack had said that night at dinner. And for those three days that I knew him, life truly was a gift, and I was oh, so grateful for it. But after the night of April 14, 1912, I no longer viewed life as a gift, but as a curse, a prison. How many nights had I thrown myself against the iron door of my cell in attempts to break through, but every time, my efforts were futile? How many times had I hooked the chains on my arms around something and pulled in a meaningless effort to break them? For every second of the eighty-four lonely, miserable years after Jack had died, I had wept. I didn't let it show through my body, but the tears were ever-present.

I finished telling the recovery team the story of our romance. The memories came back as fresh as ever, threatening to overwhelm me. The shackles on my wrists and ankles seemed to constrict and the tears flowed even more freely, even though only a few of them were present on my bodily face.

As my body made its way towards the stern of the ship, I could barely move. The pain as the manacles cut into my skin was nigh unbearable! When I had gotten rid of the Heart of the Ocean, however, the chains seemed to loosen very slightly, but they were still present.

When I climbed into the iron bed that was in my cell, I curled up, as I usually did, continuing to weep. But tonight, I thought I heard a wonderfully familiar voice whisper lovingly to me, "You've kept your promise. Come home, Rose."

My eyes fluttered open. No one was there. A small sound at my wrists caused me to look down, and I gasped through my tears at what I saw: a crack in the metal. I stood up, still gaping at the manacles in astonishment. As I watched, the crack widened, until, finally, the shackles burst open and fell to the floor with a clatter. The chains on my ankles soon followed. For the first time in eighty-four years, I felt an overwhelming happiness begin to well up within me. Slowly, I walked to the iron door of my cell, the barrier that kept me sealed inside the vault. But now, when I touched it, it opened! I took a deep breath and walked forward into the light.

The brightness blinded me at first, and I held up one of my hands to shield my eyes, still marveling at the fact that I was free. I noticed that my arm was bare, and, once my eyes adjusted, I looked down to see that the light through which I was walking had swirled around me to clothe me in a celestial gown. I reached up to wipe my tears of anguish away, but they were already gone, they had stopped flowing from my eyes the moment I entered the light.

While the light swirled, it felt as though I was walking on wind. But soon, I felt solid wood planks under my feet. The mysterious light faded, and I could see that I was in a corridor with sunlight streaming in through the windows. I gasped as I recognized this place: I was near the entrance of the Grand Staircase. I was back on the _Titanic_!

I swept around the corner and a steward was waiting for me. He nodded his head in respect and smiled, almost in relief, as he opened the door. When I saw everyone who had died on that horrible night of water and screams, I sighed in happiness and recognition.

As I walked down the aisle that they had formed for me, everyone welcomed me back. The musicians gave slight bows, little Cora waved ecstatically, and even First Officer Murdoch smiled at me. Mr. Andrews nodded to me, and that nod made me realize that this vision wasn't wishful thinking. I wasn't dreaming that I was here, I had finally been set free from the prison of my life, and I was now here for eternity.

But my eyes soon turned to the one figure who I had longed to see, the one who stood waiting for me at the top of the Grand Staircase, facing the clock. It was him, the one whose death I had mourned for every moment of my life every since that horrible moment when I was forced to let go of his hand and watch him sink to the bottom of the ocean; the moment that the chains had bound me.

Jack turned and gave me his heart-melting, lopsided grin and held out his hand to me. He seemed so relieved, not just to see me again, but also that my pain was gone. For the first time since his death, I was finally truly smiling again.

He pulled me to him and, ever so gently, wrapped his arms around my waist. The shock I felt at his touch immobilized me for a moment; I still couldn't believe that I was really here, reuniting with him. Slowly, Jack leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. The room erupted into applause as Jack and I washed away each other's anguish with our passion.

I felt Jack's hand reach up and gently stroke my curls, which I knew had been restored to their brilliant red color. Now that I had been set free, all traces of the pain that I had lived through were gone, and once again, I melted at Jack's touch.

He slowly pulled away, yet immediately engulfed me in his arms.

"I missed you so much." I whispered to him.

"I know." He whispered back. He pulled back, but he never took his arms from around me. When he looked me face-to-face, I saw tears of joy welling up in his eyes. "And now you're home, Rose," he assured me. "You're home."

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**A/N: And that's it! See you guys later! Read and review as usual!**


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